The conventional progressive wisdom is that the Trump Administration will be bad for cities and for transit users. But in recent decades, a unified Republican government has been better for public transit than a divided government.

An efficient and equitable transport system must be diverse to serve diverse travel demands. Planners need better tools to quantify and communicate the benefits of walking, cycling and public transit to sometimes skeptical decision makers.

Will it be a Small World After All?

In his new book 'Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller' economist Jeff Rubin describes how 'peak oil' will reverse globalization, revitalize cities and reinvigorate Canada's manufacturing base.

"Ever-higher energy costs will fundamentally change the way each and every one of us live our day-to-day lives - from where we work to what we eat to where we lay down our heads at night, and everything in between.

Unlike many previous peak oil books, which typically don't get much past 'we're in big trouble,' Mr. Rubin's conclusions are refreshingly optimistic. His world of the oil-starved future, at least for Western societies, looks a lot like the bygone years of our fond memory, where people work and vacation nearer to home, eat locally grown foods and buy locally produced goods, and suburban sprawl is replaced by revitalized cities.

A shrinking of global trade suggests massive disruptions for an export-driven economy such as Canada's. Yet, paradoxically, Mr. Rubin sees this as just the medicine to revive Canada's dying manufacturing sector. He believes soaring transportation costs, combined with an eventual imposition by governments of costs on greenhouse gas emissions, will wipe out Asia's huge competitive advantage on labour costs and revitalize manufacturing of goods closer to home."

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